Question loading pistol

[grine_22]

New loader here for pistol rounds. Ive loaded rifle for the last couple a years and decided to start loading the other. I loaded up 10 rounds of 380 auto and 9mm luger the other night, but I only deprimed/resized and seated the bullets, I forgot to bell the case mouth. Should I just lay those aside and reload 10 more of each this time flaring the mouth before seating the bullet for trial to make sure they fire out of my pistols?

[dallasb]

Originally Posted by grine_22

New loader here for pistol rounds. Ive loaded rifle for the last couple a years and decided to start loading the other. I loaded up 10 rounds of 380 auto and 9mm luger the other night, but I only deprimed/resized and seated the bullets, I forgot to bell the case mouth. Should I just lay those aside and reload 10 more of each this time flaring the mouth before seating the bullet for trial to make sure they fire out of my pistols?

What type of bullets? If jacketed you are probably ok. Have you done a plunk test I make sure they seat all the way into the chamber?


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[grine_22]

Midway 115 grain fmj copper plated for 9 mm, and rainier 100 grain plated fmj. I didn't do a plunk test, but I measured oal and width of factory ammo and compared it to loaded ammo.

[Astocks2622]

Nope, the only purpose for belling them is to make seating easier. If you got them​ seated to length, you're good to go. I crimp most of my ammo for semi auto pistols to keep the bullet from getting pushed further into the case during feeding. Did you crimp with the seating die?
Also, for the plunk test, you just "plunk" then into the chamber, and if they spin freely, it tells you they should cycle fine. It checks for too long case length, seating depth, and for bulged cases, either at the base or mouth.

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[Mobuck]

Honestly, how did you get the bullets started w/o flaring the case mouth?
Plated bullets commonly peel the plating off if the mouth isn't significantly flared.

[grine_22]

I barely got the bullet to start then I'd slowly pull the ram down and it would seat with some resistance, I noticed after I had them done slivers of copper on the base of the press. I did not do a crimp, I've read both ways about to crimp or not, undecided if I will crimp them. Im thinking I'll set those aside and get the turret press setup with a light crimp, load 1 blank dummy round for both calibers and see if they feed into the chambers. Better to be safe than sorry.

[mikld]

If you got the bullets in the cases without crushing the case, they're OK to shoot. Check to make sure the plated bullets weren't "shaved", copper "slivers" make me think they were...

[Nick_C_S]

Welcome to TFL.

Loading for pistol is actually easier. Or at least, they're not as persnickity.

copper "slivers" make me think they were...

I think so too. Those rounds are likely okay to shoot. But don't do that any more . Flair your brass.

The common school of thought regarding the flair is to do so as little as possible - to where you can just barely get the bullet started - as not to fatigue the brass and maximize case life.

I however, don't really subscribe to this theory. I did it that way (minimum flair) for quite a few years. But eventually, I got tired of the arduousness of getting the bullet started. As you get older, you start to value your time more . These days (for the last several years) I generously flair to the point where seating a bullet is just a matter of dropping it onto the case mouth. Flairing to this extent seems to have no effect on the longevity of the cases.

I'm not a metallurgist. But I believe that brass is flexible and snaps right back to a point; and that point isn't reached until the flair is excessive. Just my guess based on my experience. I have yet to fatigue brass by overflairing.

On a side note: I am of the opposite experience as you . . . I have been loading for pistol for years (decades, actually), and only two months ago started loading for rifle (.223 Rem). When I first started prepping the cases, I thought "how do I flair these?" Yeah, the flair/no flair is a big difference between pistol and rifle. But my experience with that is a whole 'nuther thread.

[44 AMP]

If they chamber properly, (and your load is safe) go ahead and shoot them.

I would point out that, while we talk about "rifle" and "pistol" cases, what we are really talking about here (case mouth flare) is the difference between bottle necked and straight wall (or nearly so) cases.

you flare a .45-70 case, just like you do a .38 Special, or a 9mm. So you can easily start the bullet in the case mouth, straight. (and straight matters, you shouldn't just "drop them in").

Serious cast bullet shooters often flare the case mouth of bottleneck RIFLE brass too. The Lyman "M" die is purpose made just for this.

How much flare is too much?? If the brass cracks, its too much. If you can't get it to go into the seating die, its too much.

Standard advice is to flare the brass only as much as you need to start the bullet, and no more. The more metals are bent, the more they work harden, become brittle, and break. The case mouth gets worked more than any other part, and its usually where pistol cases fail (crack).

Overworking brass DOES shorten case life, BUT it may, or may not make a practical difference. Other factors are also in play.

Crimp, how much, what type, if at all, etc. is a much discussed subject, and opinions vary widely. The only constants seem to be that cases which headspace on the case mouth should not be roll crimped, and that a bad crimp is worse than no crimp. Other than that, we...discuss things (aka argue ), a lot.

Welcome to TFL!
(beware of information overload! )

[Nick_C_S]

Other than that, we...discuss things (aka argue ) , a lot.

Ahh, we never "argue."

We just have "spirited conversations."

[howlnmad]

If they chamber okay, I would shoot them. Your accuracy may be off a little if you peeled the copper skin off. I would also check for leading. With just 10 rounds, you probably won't notice any.
As to crimping, with rimless cartridges, you don't want a lot of crimp. You just need to remove the flair from the case mouth.

[grine_22]

Thanks for all the info! Just need to learn the ins and outs of doing pistols. Had a hornady single stage with my buddy but it hasn't been setup for 4 years, so I bought a Lee single stage and worked all my rifle brass with that last couple of years. I tend to get in trouble because the old lady probably expects more time spent with her than up in the gun room, but she also just bought me a nice 300 winmag, so she's not helping her cause any. Just upgraded to a Lee turret press so I think I'll do the pistol rounds with that and the rifle on single stage. One question I do have, is cleaning primer pocket as important with pistol as rifle.....seems all the vids you see on turrets they are just pushing out rounds without much case cleaning.

[Unclenick]

Scraping off copper has the potential to reduce accuracy, but that's more of a concern at rifle levels of accuracy. You probably won't see the difference it in a pistol in term of accuracy. However, take a magnifier and examine the loaded cartridges right where the bullet emerges from the mouth of the case. You may see a ring of copper there. If you do, that can increase fouling and you might want to take a dental pick an see if any of it is loose enough to pull off. If it is, get rid of it.

[TailGator]

Just upgraded to a Lee turret press so I think I'll do the pistol rounds with that and the rifle on single stage. One question I do have, is cleaning primer pocket as important with pistol as rifle.

Good choice on the press for pistols. The primer pocket seldom needs any attention for handgun rounds.

[grine_22]

Both 380 an 9mm rounds chambered and shot fine. Thanks for the help, next time I'll make sure I bell and light crimp them.